


A Little Bit of Magic

by thepessimist



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, I'm sure there will be angst, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-07-16 07:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7257889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepessimist/pseuds/thepessimist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ennoshita and Tanaka learn a bit of magic, a little about themselves, and a lot about love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ennoshita gets on a train and meets a boy.

His mom had already started crying when they were hurrying towards the platform.

"Mama," Ennoshita whined, "I told you not to cry until I was gone."

 _Or you're gonna make me cry._ Ennoshita added in his head.

"I'm sorry, Chika," she sniffed, wiping her face, "I'm just going to miss you so much. What kinda school makes you ship off your ten-year-old?"

A magical school apparently, or at least that's what the "witch" with the pointy hat had told them. She appeared at their front door in the middle of summer vacation, wearing the most peculiar outfit and carrying a letter made of parchment, as though it was the 17th century or something. She spoke in weird metaphors and spoke of an even stranger world. It wasn't until she turned their toaster into parrot that Ennoshita was truly convinced. Suddenly he was whisked away into a world of cauldrons, spells, and bad fashion choices.

And that's what brought him here, to King's Cross on September first, just as his ticket reads and the old witch had sternly emphasized.

"The train leaves from platform 9 and 3/4 at exactly 9 o'clock," she had said sharply, pointing to his ticket, "Don't be late."

Ennoshita remembers laughing at that. There's no 9 and 3/4. It had to be a joke. The old witch just smiled and gave him instructions on how to get there.

_Just run straight through the wall between 9 and 10 and there it is._

Ennoshita stared at the wall in front of him, still not entirely convinced that this was all real. What if it was an elaborate prank his "friends" at school were pulling on him? But then he remember all the strange events that have happened to him, things that he could simply not explain without the excuse of magic. No, it had to be real. Ennoshita had to belong somewhere.

With one last tearful goodbye from his mother, who smiled at him encouragingly, he ran at the brick wall, bracing himself for the impact. It never came. Instead Ennoshita just felt the cool sensation of water as he passed straight through the stone, ending up on the other side. 

The sign about him read 'Platform 9 3/4' and the clock next to it 8:45. He made it.

There was no room for standing around though. The platform was busy. Full of people, no, witches and wizards of all ages. All hurriedly, either saying goodbye or rushing on to the train.

Watching all the parents say goodbye to their children made Ennoshita miss his mother already. He stared at the wall he had passed through. She was just on the other side, but in reality she was a world a way. Ennoshita was in a new world.

The thought both terrified him and excited him simultaneously. Ennoshita gave himself a little shake. He needed to get out of his head and get onto that train, but it was kinda hard when everything in this world was so mesmerizing. With a deep breath, Ennoshita pushed his trolley forward heading in the direction everyone else seemed to be going. He was scared of sticking out and doing something weird. He was very self conscious as he walked himself towards the train, but no one paid a slightest bit of attention to him, all too busy with their own selves.

As he walked, he spotted a group of boys that looked about his age. It was hard not to notice them, really, as they were just begging for attention with their loud laughter. They all were pushing and shoving each other, play fight like they were five years old, and not at all like the mature eleven year olds they should be. Ennoshita couldn't help but dislike them immediately, but then he remembered how his mother had told him he acted about ten years older than he was. It was part of the reason he never fit in at school. 

Maybe this is how he's supposed to act. Ennoshita watched them play from where he stood, wondering if he should join. He had promised his mother he'd make friends and this was the easiest place to start. But then the loudest of them, a kid that had a shaved head with the brightest smile Ennoshita had ever seen, pulled out what looked to be a ball of water he was keeping together with just his bare hands. Ennoshita watched as he threw it up and then spiked it hard at the kid across from him. The kid ducked, though.  The ball soared passed him and landed straight onto Ennoshita's freshly washed sweater.

Everyone in the group stopped and stared. Ennoshita was getting more angry by the second. Then the laughter started back up again, this time directed at him and all he felt was embarrassment. This is why he didn't hang out with kids his age. The bald kid who threw the water ball at him looked like he was trying to apologize, but Ennoshita just gave him his best death glare and stalked off, wishing he knew a spell that could make himself disappear. 

He got onto the train, quickly found an empty compartment and shut himself inside. Once he put his trunks up, he sat comfortably in the seat next to the window, book in hand and ready to glare at anyone who tries to sit with him. He was really not in the mood to make friends anymore. 

Nobody tried, anyway. Everyone already seemed to have their own friends to sit with, their own group to be with. Ennoshita suddenly felt very alone, as he stared out the train window. But it didn't matter, he was almost always alone back at home. It was silly to think it would be any different here. 

Ennoshita let himself get lost in his book and before he knew it the scenery outside his window completely changed. The platform was long gone and now the train was speeding past rolling hills and grand lakes that sparkled in the dying sun. Everything about just felt so magical. He could almost forget about his loneliness. 

Ennoshita didn't gain company until the journey was almost over, when the last light of the sun was peaking through. He had already changed into his robes as the food cart lady told him they were almost there. He sat there fingering the dark fabric, still in awe that this was all real. A knock at the compartment door startled him out of his thoughts.

It rattled opened and a figure hesitantly entered and tentatively asked, "Can I sit in here for a bit?"

It was the kid from earlier, the one that soaked his favorite sweater. Ennoshita was about to tell him to get out, when he noticed his eyes were red and fresh tear tracks ran down his face. Instead Ennoshita gave him a curious look and then nodded without a word. 

The other boy ducked his head in thanks and sat in the seat across from Ennoshita, refusing to make eye contact. Instead his gaze was fixed on the view outside the window, even though you could barely make out anything in the little light that was left. Tears were still streaming down his face. It made Ennoshita uncomfortable. 

He didn't know what to do. He didn't even know the first thing about comforting people. But then he remembered his promise to his mom. How he'd try to make new friends. He had to at least try. 

So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked quietly. 

At first Ennoshita thought that maybe he said it a bit too quietly and the other boy hadn't heard him at all, but then he gave a small shake of his head. 

Ennoshita cleared his throat, it suddenly felt dry. "What's your name? Mine's Ennoshita Chikara."

"Tanaka Ryuunosuke," the boy responded stoically, still not looking at Ennoshita.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke. At least he was responding. This was going better than any other attempts Ennoshita had tried. 

"So Tanaka what's wrong? Did something happen?" Ennoshita persisted. 

Tanaka finally turned to look at him, eyes watery, cheeks red. "The other boys made fun of my robes," he cried.

Ennoshita drank in his appearance. He didn't really notice what the other boy had been wearing, as he had been too surprised that someone was actually talking to him. He looked at Tanaka's clothes. At first he just saw black robes, but then he realized they were worn out, a bit dusty, with rips and patches in them. They were definitely second hand.

Oh gosh, kids his age really were the worst.

He looked back at Tanaka's face. He was wearing a very familiar expression. It was the same expression Ennoshita had when he looked in the mirror, as he cleaned of his bruised knees in the bathroom, after someone pushed him in the playground. Whatever animosity Ennoshita still had about the water incident was gone. All he wanted to do was help the poor kid.

"C'mere," Ennoshita mumbled, averting his gaze down. Tanaka looked surprised at first, but quickly took his place next to Ennoshita. 

Ennoshita began straightening out his robes, dusting off whatever dirt he could and fixing the collar. He then took out a handkerchief from his pocked and wiped away the tears from Tanaka's face, who was still sniffing as he cleaned him up. 

"There," Ennoshita said, as he admired his handiwork, "Good as new!"

He gave Tanaka a smile, but the other boy still looked sad. 

"They aren't new," he frowned, "that's why the other boys made fun of me."

Ennoshita hesitated, not knowing how to respond. But then he did something that surprised even him. He took Tanaka's hand into his own and said, "Well I like them!"

It came out a bit more harshly than he intended, but it had the desired affect. Tanaka stared at him, wide eyed, as though Ennoshita was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. 

"You do?" He asked excitedly, gripping Ennoshita's hand tightly.

"Yeah," Ennoshita said, Tanaka's enthusiasm rubbing off on him, "They make you look tough and strong."

"You think I'm strong?" Tanaka was in awe.

Wow this kid sure liked to jump to conclusions. "Sure," Ennoshita agreed with him, not actually sure, "I think you're really strong."

The smile that it put on Tanaka's face made him sure, though. Ennoshita decided that he wanted to see that smile over and over again. 

"Hey, my friends call me Ryuu! You should too!" Tanaka requested, eyes shining even with the bad lighting.

"Friends?" Ennoshita question, his gut suddenly clenching tightly.

"Yeah friends!" Tanaka reminded him of a hyper puppy and Ennoshita really liked dogs.

"Ok, Ryuu." He tested it out and then hesitated before adding, "My mama calls me Chika."

He blushed after saying it, immediately regretting it as Tanaka didn't respond.

"Chika?" Tanaka asked after awhile, still contemplating the nickname, "I like it. It suits you! I can call you that?"

Ennoshita nodded shyly, still a bit too embarrassed for words. 

"Well Chika," Tanaka looked embarrassed too, " I'm sorry about the water ball. I didn't mean to throw it at you. I was gonna say sorry, but you looked really mad."

Ennoshita felt a bit guilty now, about not sticking around to hear Tanaka's apology. "It's ok," he assured, "I get nervous around a lot of people, so I kind of ran off. I guess that was kinda rude of me too."

"No of course not," Tanaka insisted, "You should've been mad. I'm kind of an idiot."

"Yeah you kinda are."

"Hey don't agree with me!" Tanaka yelled. 

Ennoshita let out a giggle, so that Tanaka knew he was joking and soon he joined in, both laughing unti their stomachs ached a bit. It set a playful tone to the rest of their conversation, though Tanaka did most of the talking.

He rambled on for the rest of the trip, talking about what they were going to do when they got to school. How he was going to make sure they had a bunch of classes together and if not they were still going to do everything else together. 

It was a bit overwhelming at first. Ennoshita never really had friends, let alone one so excited to be with him. So he just nodded along with whatever Tanaka said, no matter how ridiculous it was. Tanaka didn't seem to mind though, as he talked enough for the both of them. He was happy that someone wanted to do things with him, wanted to see him everyday. 

As much as Tanaka talked though, the grip on Ennoshita's hand never loosened. The thought of their intertwined hands, tucked away like a secret, made a smile appear on Ennoshita's lips, one that was almost as bright as Tanaka's.

For the first time Ennoshita didn't feel an ounce of loneliness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if any of you guys have been reading Ennoshita's Theory I mentioned I was working on another Ennotana fic that was an AU. Well here it is! Surprise! It's a Hogwarts AU! I feel like every ship needs one lol.  
> This story is going to be across all their years at Hogwarts spending a couple of chapters in each year. Some more characters will be introduced soon, but I wanted to the first chapter to be focused on them meeting.  
> I hope you liked it. If you did or didn't feel free to drop a comment or suggestion as any and all or welcomed!  
> Have a nice day wherever you are! :D


	2. A Strange Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ennoshita learns that Hogwarts is home to the strangest people.

Tanaka practically pulled him out of the train, Ennoshita's lungs and legs aching to keep up.

"Hurry, I want you to meet someone!" He yelled excitedly as they weaved through students, "She said she'd wait at the front."

Ennoshita wondered who Tanaka could possible be dragging him too. Did he already make friends here? With Tanaka's personality, he wasn't all that surprised.

As soon as they got off the train a voice called out to them. "Ryuu! Ryuu over here!"

 Ennoshita turned in the direction of the noise and found a blonde girl waving at them. Her smile was identical to the one Tanaka wore. Before he could contemplate anything else though, he was being pulled over to her.

"Saeko!" Tanaka yelled excitedly, once they were in front of her. She patted him on the head, laughing.

"I see you didn't get lost," she giggled, "And who's this cutie?"

 _Cutie._ He could feel the heat rushing to his face already. Ennoshita was hoping he'd just be ignored, but Tanaka pushed him so he was directly in front the girl saying, "Saeko this is Ennoshita Chikara. Chika, this is my big sister, Saeko!"

 His sister huh? He regarded her rather coldly as she shook his hand enthusiastically. "It's nice to meet you Chikara! I'm glad Ryuu has made a friend  already!"

Ennoshita gave her a strained smile in return. Where was she when Ryuu was crying? She should've been taking care of him.

Her attention immediately went back to her brother after their hands parted from the handshake. She cupped Ryuu's face, turning it side to side in her palms and then spoke softly, "Was the train ride ok? Nobody gave you any trouble, right?"

The concern in her voice made guilt well up in the pit of Ennoshita's stomach. He judged her so quickly. 

Tanaka had backed away quickly from her grasp, scrunching up his nose as he said, "Nothing happened! I'm fine! You don't need to worry about me."

Ennoshita thought about mentioning how Tanaka didn't look too fine when they met on the train, but one look from the other boy shut his mouth real quick. Tanaka definitely didn't want Saeko to know what happened on the train for some reason. Ennoshita felt bad for the older girl, his guilt not only stemming from his cold attitude from before but also because her little brother didn't seem to trust her. But in a weird way Ennoshita understood Tanaka's decision. It's like when he lied to his mom about the scraps on his knees. It had something to do with the little bit of pride that he had.

Saeko just pulled away, slowly tucking her hands back into her pockets. She was still fidgeting as if she was trying hard to say the right thing. 

"Ok, if you're sure," she said, tentative at first, but quickly switched back into her shinning personality from before. "Hey you guys should probably get going. You don't want to be late for the sorting or the the Headmistress will turn you into a frog!"

"The sorting?"

"A frog?!"

"What's that?"

"Is that allowed?!"

"Yup," Saeko replied, not giving any indication as to which question she was answering, "Let's hope we're in the same house, huh?"

She twisted her tie around in one hand and traced the symbol on her robes with the other. For the first time Ennoshita noticed the color of her tie, red and gold stripes, and that there was a small lion on her upper left chest, where Ennoshita and Tanaka both just had the Hogwarts emblem. He never thought that the colors held any significance. Now he vaguely remembered the old witch saying something about four houses. At the time it didn't seem that important just because, ya know, he found out he was a wizard, now though he wished he had paid a bit more attention.

He wanted to ask Saeko more about this sorting thing. He really hoped it wasn't a test because he only flipped through his textbooks when he first got them and he didn't have the best long term memory. But before he could muster up the courage to say anything a voice called out, "Saeko-San! Hurry up or we won't get a carriage!"

A tall blonde boy was waving over at her from across the platform. She dismissed him with a quick wave back and turned her attention back to them. "Good luck boys! The first years get to go on a boat ride so I'll see you guys inside. Don't get into any trouble, ok?"

She didn't really wait for them to respond, already walking away as she spoke, but not without one last pat to Tanaka's head. She was quite a bit a way from them when she turned around again and surprised Ennoshita by addressing him directly.

"Oh and Chikara? Please look after Ryuu for me. He really needs it!" She shot him a dazzling smile before she ran off to catch up with that boy, leaving Tanaka and Ennoshita alone on the platform that was becoming increasingly empty. 

Tanaka grumbled a bit about being able to take care of himself before speaking to Ennoshita. He looked shy as he looked back up at him, his fists clenched at his sides like he was worried about how Ennoshita would react.

"Thanks for not saying anything about the other boys," he mumbled, not looking directly at Ennoshita's face, instead focusing his gaze on a lantern behind him.

Ennoshita's chest felt like it was closing in on itself, the pressure overwhelming. He just related to Tanaka so much. He couldn't help but reach out and intertwine their fingers again, as a silent _You're welcome. I understand._

He didn't make eye contact with him as he spoke, turning the other way. "Let's go. Didn't Saeko say something about a boat ride?"

As if on cue, a loud gruff voice started calling out, "First Years! First Years over here!"

Tanaka and Ennoshita walked over to where the sound was coming from, hands still firmly locked together. Ennoshita told himself it was so they didn't get lost, there were still a lot of people on the platform. It had nothing to do with the warm feeling he'd get anytime they made contact. 

When they finally approached the crowd of first years at the edge of the platform, Ennoshita had to hold in a gasp. It seemed quite silly but he had kinda forgotten that this was a magical school, that not only people lived in the magical world, but other magical creatures, like Giants. 

The man standing in the middle of the loud crowd of first years was huge, at least ten feet tall. His first instinct was to flinch away, as big people often meant bullies, but then his mother's voice echoed in his mind.

_If you judge people on how they look, you're just inviting people to do the same._

So instead he just smiled as the Giant addressed them.

"I think y'er the last two," he said, as Ennoshita flushed when all the others turned to look at them, "Well, Imma get started then. Mah names Hagrid, Gatekeeper of Hogwarts and I also teach Care of Magical Creatures! Wer' gonna take a little detour to get to the castle. It's a bit of a tradition fer first years to go on a boat ride. Sounds like fun righ?"

The first years just looked terrified instead, well most of them. Tanaka was practically shaking besides him and there was a loud cheer from a tiny boy in the back.

"Well don't git too excited," Hagrid mumbled as he led them to the docks. As they walked, he told them all about boat safety and that there was a lovely Giant Squid living in the lake they were about to cross. It was dark, almost pitch black, outside, but Ennoshita swore his eyes lit up, as he rambled about the majestic creature. 

"If yer' good I'll even let yer' feed her," He said excitedly. This was met with mostly horrified gasps, but thankfully before he could explain any further, their walk came to an end. 

He told them to get into whatever boat they liked, but to have no more than four to a boat. It seemed like everyone already had a group, as most kids got situated quickly, leaving Tanaka and Ennoshita standing awkwardly at the end of the dock. That was until, a loud squeaky voice called out. 

"Hey you two! I'm by myself over here!" 

It was the very tiny excited boy from before. He was waving at them so hard, Ennoshita was scared that his arm might just propel off his body. 

Tanaka looked at Ennoshita with a raised eyebrows and he just shrugged in response. They didn't have much of a choice, so they joined very tiny excited kid in his boat. 

Ennoshita was already getting seasick and they hadn't even started moving. It probably had to do with the fact that very excited kid would not sit still and was rocking the boat back and forth.

"My name is Nishinoya Yuu, but everyone calls me Noya!" He said, still bouncing, "What's yours?"

Ennoshita let Tanaka answer for the both of them as he didn't trust himself to open his mouth without throwing up.

"I'm Tanaka Ryuunosuke, but you can call me Ryuu," Tanaka replied with just as much enthusiasm, not bothered by the rocking boat. Instead it seemed like he was even more excited than before. He patted Ennoshita's back hard as he said, "and this is Ennoshita Chikara. You can call him-"

"Ennoshita," Ennoshita blurted out suddenly, turning red as soon as he spoke. He didn't know why, but he didn't like the idea of even more people calling him Chika; it put a pit in his stomach. Tanaka's casualness with it already made him uncomfortable enough and Ennoshita had a feeling Noya was the same way with his friends.

Tanaka shot him a concerned look when he interrupted, the boat suddenly very quiet. The awkwardness was cut short though, as the boat lurched forward, finally moving towards the castle. Ennoshita's stomach twisted again for a very different reason, and it wasn't from seasickness. The prospect of the new school, looming closer. But he didn't have time to worry, or Tanaka and Noya didn't give him time to worry. They were both practically squealing as the boats glided across the lake, all of the tension forgotten. Their excitement was contagious. He couldn't possibly be nervous with Tanaka's bright smile lighting up the night a couple of inches away and a castle as the backdrop. 

By the time they got to the castle, Noya had only threatened to fall out of the boat 7 times, and him and Tanaka were getting along as if they'd known each other their entire lives. It made Ennoshita feel a bit left out, as they continued to chatter happily in front of him while they walked up the steps to the grand entrance, but he was expecting this to happen. He wasn't the most exciting person. The few friends he did make always liked other people better than him and he was fine with it. He was used to it, even. So he wasn't surprised when Tanaka left him for Noya.

To make it less awkward, he slowed his pace down, walking through the hallway by himself, taking in his environment. He was in a magical castle. He was being led through a magical castle, by a professor, who taught magic. There were other things here than just making friends, there was an entire world to learn. It was silly of him to get so caught up on the first person he met. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly what, but there was something in Tanaka that made Ennoshita want to be wanted by him. At his previous school, he had a stoic indifference to the other children ignoring him, but for some reason seeing the back of Tanaka's head made his gut wrench in disappointment. A bit of him hoped since Tanaka had bad experience with other kids too, he'd find a common ground with Ennoshita and stick with him.

It's ok though, Ennoshita reassured himself. He's only known Tanaka for a few hours. He didn't own him and couldn't be mad or sad that he made other friends. Ennoshita would have a bunch of chances to make new friends too and he didn't have to stick with his first one. Tanaka wouldn't be mad at him for doing that, would he? Ennoshita had no right to be disappointed.

Ennoshita just sighed in response to his internal monologue. He was already tiring himself out and he still had the sorting to worry about. What if he wasn't good enough for any house? Would they just kick him out? Would they put him in the dungeon?

His stomach was really getting a beating today, and his thoughts weren't helping it at all. He lagged further behind the group, his pace now painfully slow, tracing every individual stone in the wall with his eyes, taking every step carefully. He couldn't hear whatever the professor leading them in was saying. It was something about the history of the castle and other things he should probably pay attention to. He just couldn't. He wanted to throw up again. His emotions were coming up quickly and his body couldn't handle it.

And just when he was about to stop walking all together, a hand grasped his clammy one. Ennoshita looked up to see Tanaka, his eyebrows all scrunched together like he was figuring out a puzzle.

"Chiiikaaaa," Tanaka whined, pulling at Ennoshita's robes with his free hand, "Why are you walking so slow? You're gonna be left behind."

Ennoshita was surprised. Tanaka came back for him? How strange; this isn't how its supposed to go. Ennoshita suddenly felt a tug on his other side and turned to find Noya hanging off of him.

"Yeah," Noya inputted, "We don't want to get lost. Plus, I'm starving and I heard there's a huge feast!"

"A feast?" Tanaka perked up, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

And with that, Ennoshita found himself being dragged a long with Noya and Tanaka, both practically salivating at the thought of food. He hid his glee with a couple of sarcastic comments and complaints that they were gripping him too tight, but he was secretly glad they had come back for him. The thought of it made his heart leap and his stomach flutter a bit. 

The Great Hall took his breath away when they entered. Not only were there hundreds of other, older, students milling around chattering quite loudly, but the ceiling was opened to the night sky, where all of the constellations shone brightly. Hundreds of floating candles added to the twinkling effect, making the atmosphere magical. He was really here, in a school for wizards. It was happening.

He heard Tanaka gasp beside him and tighten his grip on his hand. Noya let out a small "holy crap", but Ennoshita was too in awe and nervous to reprimand him.

They were led to the front, where a grand table was sat, the headmistress in the center and various other professors on each side. Ennoshita spotted Hagrid in the corner, who was trying to give a subtle thumbs up to the first years, but nothing was subtle with his stature. What was even stranger though was the stool in the center. It had a hat placed on it, an old dusty one and everyone was looking at it expectantly, so Ennoshita did too.

The other students finally quieted down, everyone just staring at the hat on the stool. And then it started. The hat started, more specifically the hat started to sing. _The hat was singing._ A singing hat. Ennoshita really needed to stop getting surprised by magic. 

After the initial shock, Ennoshita began listening to the lyrics. The hat explained how there were four houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. How each of them had different attributes and that is how they'd be sorted. All they had to do was put the old hat on and he would tell you where to go.

Ennoshita sighed in relief. Thank god, all they had to do was wear a hat. There was no test, no way he could fail. The hat would tell him where he belonged. The warm feeling was back in his chest at the thought, a house, full of people, like him. It seemed like a dream. Ennoshita hoped his house would like him and a little part of him wished for him and Tanaka to end up in the same house. It would be a lot easier to fit in if he already was friends with someone there.

So the sorting started and Ennoshita's stomach twisted with every name called. Some students were quick, the hat barely touching their heads, and some were long, the hat taking a minute to decide before calling out the their new house. And finally the professor called, "Ennoshita Chikara!"

He looked at Tanaka hesitantly, who squeezed his hand one last time before letting go and pushing him forward. He walked shakily up the steps, feeling all the eyes in the hall follow his every move, and sat down on the stool. He held his breath as the professor placed the hat on his head.

Ennoshita didn't care what house he was in. He knew he wasn't anything special, nothing outstanding, but he still wanted to belong somewhere.

_You don't care, huh? That's something I haven't heard in a while._

He flinched a bit as a voice that wasn't his echoed through his mind. Of course, singing hats are also mind reading hats.

_It's pretty obvious where you belong though, so it doesn't really matter anyway._

It is? But he's never belonged anywhere.

_Well, you do now kid._

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted to the crowed of students, it was met with a thunderous applause, especially from the table decked in blue and bronze.

Ennoshita ran to the table as soon as the hat was lifted off his head, hoping to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible. He sat down across the other boy who had been sorted in the Ravenclaw and stared at him, still too shy to actually introduce himself first. The other boy just stared back too. He had messy, wavy, black hair and hooded eyelids, like he was permanently bored.

A hand was suddenly patting his back. He looked to his side to see another boy seated next to him. He had silver hair that practically glowed under all the lights in the hall and a smile to compete with it.

"Ennoshita, right?" the boy asked softly. Ennoshita simply nodded in response.

"I'm Sugawara Koshi, but everyone calls me Suga." His smile gotten even brighter if possible. He then pointed at the boy across from him. "This is Akaashi Keiji. We were just talking about how much fun being in Ravenclaw is. Isn't that right, Akaashi?"

Akaashi just blinked at him and huffed a quiet, "Sure."

A loud laugh interrupted their quiet conversation (if you could even call it one). The boy across from Suga was pounding the table.

"Awww, Suga you're so cute," the boy said, wiping invisible tears from his face, "You try so hard to make friends with the newbies, even if they don't want to."

Suga chopped the still laughing boy in the head. It did the trick to quiet him down a bit. "Shut up Kuroo," He said, his voice suddenly harsher, "You were a _newbie_ last year. Don't you wish people tried to get to know you before they knew how annoying you are."

"You wound me, Suga, so sweet, but so bitter," Kuroo responded playfully, "I am a wonderful person that is why I'll introduce myself to the newbies."

He turned his attention to Ennoshita and Akaashi. "Hello newbies. Allow me to grace you with the my presence. I am Kuroo Tetsurou."

He turned back to Suga. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

Before Kuroo and Suga could do more playful banter another boy joined them, introducing himself as Kinoshita Hisashi and took a place next to Ennoshita. He had almost forgot that the sorting was still happening. He looked up and saw Tanaka and Noya still nervously waiting their turn. The boy who had just been sorted, apparently was sorted into Ravenclaw, as he made his way over to their table. He had the same bored look that Akaashi had, like this happened everyday of his life. Ennoshita thought it was safe to assume that those two grew up in the magical world.

When he came over he awkwardly hovered where they were sat, like he didn't know what to do, but also like he didn't really care. Until a loud voice called out. 

"KENMA!" Kuroo yelled, hopping up and swinging an arm around the other boy, "I knew we'd be in the same house. Guys, this is Kenma and he loves making friends."

"No, I don't," Kenma mumbled.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't"

"Yes, you do."

Ennoshita had a feeling this would go on all day if no one stopped them and thankfully Suga had the good sense to do just that.

"Kuroo, just sit down," Suga said sternly and then smiled at Kenma, "It's nice to meet you, Kenma."

 Kenma nodded silently in response and took a seat next to Akaashi, Kuroo quickly sat down next to him. It left an empty spot on Akaashi's right, but not for long as another boy approached their group. 

"Is this seat taken?" He asked. His haircut was very similar to Tanaka. 

Suga nodded enthusiastically and he took his seat, introducing himself as Narita Kazuhito. His name reminded Ennoshita that Noya should be sorted soon. When he looked up the small boy was already sat upon the stool, swinging his legs as if he couldn't sit still. 

His sorting didn't last long, as very quickly the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!"

Ennoshita sighed, a little disappointed he wouldn't be in the same house, but he was happy as Noya practically leaped to the table next to them, sending a wink when he passed by.

The line of first years was thin as Tanaka's name was finally called. He straightened up, ignoring the conversation around him, watching every step the other boy took. Ennoshita noticed his hands were clenched at his sides. Tanaka was nervous, despite the wide smile on his face. He held his breath as the hat was placed on his head and-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

His heart sunk a bit, but immediately lifted as he saw Tanaka run to the Gryffindor table and get engulfed into a giant hug, by both Noya and Saeko. If Tanaka was happy, then he was happy.

Their eyes met across the table as Tanaka sat down and apparently the other boy saved his brightest smile for Ennoshita.

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner was an odd affair. The chatter was back up around the table and Ennoshita found himself getting along quite well with Kinoshita and Narita, much to his surprise. But even that wasn't the weirdest thing about dinner. The food appeared on its own, seemingly never ending. There were a countless number of dishes and now that his stomach had stopped squirming so much, Ennoshita wanted to try them all.

But even that wasn't the strangest part.

The conversation was pretty standard around the table, Suga asking basic questions to make them feel more welcomed. It turns out, in their group, Ennoshita was the only one who hadn't grown up in the wizarding world. Everyone else was very excited about it. They wanted to know everything, from how their plumbing worked to what Ennoshita did for fun.

"Do you have any sports?" Kinoshita asked, concerned.

"Umm, yeah." Ennoshita's reply was met with a collective sigh of relief. What did they think the muggle world was like?

"Do you play any?" Kuroo asked as he stuffed an entire pie slice in his mouth.

"Yeah, I've played volleyball for a while now," Ennoshita said excitedly. Volleyball was the few things he enjoyed, even if he wasn't that great.

"Volleyball?" Narita said the word like he was trying it out. "What a strange word."

"Yeah," Suga agreed, "Is it anything like quidditch?"

Quidditch? They had a sport named quidditch, but volleyball was too weird for them; go figure.

"I'm not really sure what that is."

There were gasps all around him. Kuroo actually choked on his pie. Akaashi was the only one that didn't seemed bothered by it. Instead his eyes lit up as he explained the sport to Ennoshita, even going into detail about all the rules. The rest of the group was shocked. The other boy hadn't really said anything, but now he was practically spewing information.

"The seeker," Akaashi said putting his fork down as he started to use his hands to speak, "Is supposed to be the quickest most agi-"

"AKAAAASSSHII!"

A blur of black and yellow tackled Akaashi out of his seat.

To his credit, Akaashi didn't even flinch as he got back off the ground, dusting himself off. The other boy was still on the ground, pouting. His wide gold eyes and spiked up hair made him look like an owl.

"Bokuto-san," He said to the boy who had threw himself at him, calmly sitting back down.

"Akaaaaasshii," The boy, who apparently was named Bokuto, whined, "You didn't end up in Hufflepuff."

"It's ok. We'll still see each other. We go to the same school," Akaashi reasoned.

"But your mother told me to take care of you," Bokuto said, getting up and hanging off of Akaashi.

"That never happened, Bokuto-san."

"What?"

"She never said that, Bokuto-san."

"What?!"

"It was _your_ mom that told me to take care of _you_ , Bokuto-san," Akaashi said evenly, getting back to his potatoes.

"Whaat??!" Bokuto looked devastated, "Why? You're younger than me?"

Akaashi didn't responded but he did offer him some of his food as consolation. Bokuto shoved his way in between Akaashi and Kenma. Kuroo reached over and patted his back comfortingly.

"It's ok, man," Kuroo said, a sly smile on his face, "Not everyone can be as mature as me."

"I don't know if I'd call you mature," said a voice from behind Ennoshita.

He turned around, just as Suga squeaked, "Daichi!"

The boy, Daichi, had a wide smile on his face and his hands in his pockets, like he was trying to appear calmer than he was. His robes had red and gold accents on it. Gryffindor, the same house Tanaka was in. Ennoshita glanced over to the table to find Noya and Tanaka in a heated battle to see who could stuff more dinner rolls in their mouths. Noya was winning. When Tanaka noticed Ennoshita looking over, he gave him a little wave that warmed Ennoshita's heart. He turned his attention back to the new boy that had shown up.

Daichi didn't say hi at first and instead greeted Suga by stealing some fries off his plate.

"Hey! Hands off," Suga scolded, slapping at his wrist, "And introduce yourself to the first years. You don't want them thinking your just some creep who steals my food." He paused, placing his finger on his chin like he was thinking, "Oh, wait you are."

Daichi scoffed, "I resent that," and then turned his attention to the first years, "I'm Sawamura Daichi, but you guys can call me Daichi! And I'm not a creep. I'm Suga's only friend. It's very sad. He covers up his insecurities with lies."

He wiped a fake tear from his face, just as Suga chopped him in the side.

"I am appalled," Kuroo gasped, waving a french fry at Suga, "That is not how you treat your only friend. Especially one that is as old as Daichi."

All the first years exchanged confused looks. Suga saw this and started to explain as Kuroo and Daichi started to go at it.

"Daichi acts like he's about 35 years old."

"Oh"

"I do not!"

"Yes you do," Suga insisted, "You always laugh at dad jokes."

"Because they're funny," Daichi tried to reason weakly.

Suga, Kuroo, and Bokuto all shook their heads.

"No, their not," Suga said smiling sweetly, "Now sit down and stop leaning over to choke Kuroo or you'll get back pain."

Daichi obliged scooting his way in between Suga and Ennoshita. Ennoshita assumed this must have been normal activity for them as Suga automatically made room for him and Daichi stole another couple of fries off his plate. It left him wondering if this was actually allowed. He was slightly uncomfortable with being in such close proximity with someone he just met, but Daichi didn't seem to mind, so he tried to not make a big deal out of it.

"Hey where's Asahi?" Suga asked Bokuto, once they were all settled.

"I asked him to come over with me," Bokuto said, in between mouthfuls, "But he said there were too many new people." He perked up a bit. "Hey, I'll call him over now!" He turned around and started waving at the Hufflepuff table. "Asahi! Asahi! Suga's asking for you!"

The kid who turned around looked at least like he was in his fourth year. He cringed away as Bokuto kept waving and waved back shyly and then ducked his head back down.

" _He's_ scared of _us_?" Kinoshita asked.

Daichi chuckled a bit and then responded, "Yeah, don't judge people on looks; he may look tough, but he's a real softie."

That seemed to be the theme for tonight. Ennoshita was about to ask if he was in the same class as Suga and Daichi, when two loud voices called his name.

"Chika!"

"Chikara!"

Noya and Tanaka collided with his back, knocking Ennoshita into his plate, that was thankfully empty.

"Hey Chikara! We saw everyone sitting over here and we thought we could too," Noya said excitedly. Ennoshita smiled back weakly, rubbing at the spot on his shoulder that Noya's head had hit.

"Oh you know Tanaka and Noya?" Daichi asked.

"Yeah," Ennoshita replied, "Tanaka and I met on the train and Noya-"

"Ennoshita saved me from falling out of the boat like three times!" Noya squeaked, like he was the coolest thing ever.

"Oh, that was you?" Daichi laughed, "Well you two should sit down. Everyone make room."

"Don't act like this is your table," Suga huffed, but moved over to make room.

Tanaka took the seat next to Daichi and Noya sat on Ennoshita's other side next to Kinoshita. They struck up a conversation about how cool and tall Hagrid was, extremely quickly. Ennoshita was glad he was sitting next to someone he was more comfortable with now. They were so close that Tanaka had to turn slightly towards him so Ennoshita's shoulder was resting against his chest. Tanaka didn't mind though as he looped an arm around Ennoshita to get more comfortable.

He smiled brightly at Ennoshita as he asked "You enjoying the feast? It's too bad we didn't end up in the same house."

Ennoshita fidgeted, the arm around his middle making him unnaturally warm. "Yeah, but everyone here is pretty nice and it seems like they don't care about different houses."

"I know; it's great," Tanaka agreed, "Everyone here is a bit more unique than the rest of Hogwarts, I think."

His gaze landed on Bokuto and Kuroo who were balancing dishware on a sleeping Kenma.

Ennoshita snorted, "You're one to talk."

"Hey!" Tanaka pinched his side. "Actually I'm going to take it as a compliment. You just think I'm wonderful, way better than everyone else here."

"Do whatever you want with it," Ennoshita giggled. He giggled. What was he turning into?

"But at least we met the odd ones first," Tanaka reasoned, "That way no one else will surprise us!"

"Yeah I guess nobody else could real-"

"Yoo hoo! Refreshing-kun!"

A tall brown haired boy, decked out in green and silver approached their table, interrupting all conversation.

_Refreshing-kun?_

Suga sighed so loudly, Ennoshita could hear him from two people over.

"What do you want, Oikawa?" Suga said, not even looking up from his plate.

"Rude!" Oikawa gasped, putting a hand over his perfect pout, "I just came over to say hi!"

"You never come over to just say hi," Daichi said, eyes narrowed.

Oikawa shot him a sickly sweet smile. "Well Dai-chan you see-"

"Hey idiot, are you annoying people again?" Another boy appeared at Oikawa's side, his face scrunched up in what seemed to be a permanent scowl. This boy was clearly from Gryffindor, as his robes were identical to Daichi's.

"Iwa-chan, you know I would never!" Oikawa said, blinking innocently at the other boy.

 _Iwa-chan?_ What an odd name for such an angry person.

Kuroo's loud laughter covered up Iwa-chan's retort. Pounding the table, he gasped, "Iwa-chan! Oh god that nickname never gets old. Gosh I'm so sorry Iwaizumi."

Iwaizumi, that made a lot more sense. It seemed like Oikawa liked to give nicknames to everyone. Ennoshita hoped he was irrelevant enough to by pass this tradition.

"Shut up Kuroo," Iwaizumi said evenly, trying to play it cool, but the tips of his ears were red, "I came to take him away, but maybe I'll just leave him here."

Everyone immediately began protesting, practically begging Iwaizumi to take Oikawa away.

"That's what I thought," Iwaizumi said smugly, pulling Oikawa by the hood of his robes.

"Aww, but Iwa-chan I didn't even get to-"

"No."

"But Refreshing-kun is sitting there all smug now," Oikawa whined, wiggling out of Iwaizumi's grip, "like he's cuter than me or something."

"I am cuter than you," Suga said.

Oikawa gasped, "So vain!"

"Everyone's cuter than you," Iwaizumi said.

"So rude!" Oikawa huffed, but allowed Iwaizumi to drag him, but not without sending one last wave over his shoulder. That earned him a tug to his hair, which then caused them to bicker all the way back to the Slytherin table.

"What the heck was that?" Noya asked, a shrimp hanging from his mouth.

"Oikawa and Iwaizumi," Daichi said as if that explained everything.

"They are childhood friends," Suga added, "but no one can tell if Iwaizumi loves or hates Oikawa."

Ennoshita eyes followed back over to the two boys, who were still attached. The hand that was in Oikawa's hair was no longer pulling at it, instead it was lightly threading it's way through it, smoothing it down, like Iwaizumi was subconsciously trying to apologize. 

He looked away quickly, face burning. He felt like he had seen something he wasn't supposed to. At least he got the answer to Suga's question.

"Yeah they're a bunch of weirdos," Bokuto said through a mouthful of pudding. 

Ennoshita looked around the table. Suga was poking Daichi hard enough to knock him out of his seat, Noya, Tanaka, Kuroo, and Bokuto were in a four way eating contest, as Kinoshita and Narita took bets. 

They were all a bunch of weirdos and Ennoshita decided he liked it, quite a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMIGOD IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG HOLY CRAP! Anyway I got fucking sick in the middle of fucking summer. It's like fucking 97 degrees ( Fahrenheit) and I got a fucking cold. Sigh.
> 
> Anyway I hoped you like this chapter; I wanted to introduce a bunch of the characters that would show at different arcs. I thought it'd be fun! (Was it idk???)  
> I put the characters in whatever houses I thought they'd actually be in, instead of just making each school a house. Did you agree with the placement? I'll make a comprehensive list when I've introduced all the characters!  
> As always all comments and suggestions are welcomed!
> 
> Have a nice day where ever you are :D


	3. A New School Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school year doesn't start off smoothly, but at Hogwarts nothing ever does.

Ennoshita woke up thinking he was home, waiting for his mom to brush her cool hand over his head and tell him breakfast was ready. It didn't happen.

Instead he got a pillow to the face from Narita.

"C'mon Ennoshita! We're gonna be late!"

We're. That's something a little part of him hoped to get used to. His entire life was encompassed in me, myself and I. He could use a little we and us. Ennoshita still didn't want to get too comfortable. As much as he wanted it, he still didn't trust it not to go badly and it all be pulled out from under him when he least expected it.

Ennoshita felt a bit guilty though, when he woke up it was the first time he had thought of his mother since he first entered the wizarding world. He promised himself on the first break he got he'd send her a letter, that is if he could find the owlery the prefect last night had spoke of.

Fortunately for him, not everything was different at Hogwarts. Thank god, even wizards had hygiene standards. Ennoshita felt silly for thinking they might not, but he didn't know what to expect anymore.

He barely noticed the walk down to the Great Hall, paying more attention to his feet than the talking portraits or Kinoshita's and Narita's conversation. They were both extremely excited for the school year, but Ennoshita was starting to feel that pit in his stomach again.

He could easily fail everything. It seemed like everyone else was born into magic and here he was still mesmerized by everything at Hogwarts. What if the teachers all expected him to know the basics? He had no idea how to even hold his wand properly let alone how to cast a spell. What if he couldn't pronounce the spells properly? He tried learning French from his grandmother and he was terrible at speaking it. Would they just not work? He was going to be the worst wizard in existence and he hadn't even started yet.

He was still so wrapped up in his thoughts as he sat down at the Ravenclaw table that he didn't notice Suga push some toast on to his plate until he spoke.

"You should eat something," he said as he munched on his own slice, "Big day ahead of you."

Ennoshita tried for a smile but even he could tell it wasn't working out. He turned his attention to the rest of the Great Hall and found that it was mostly still empty, only a few sleepy students fumbling around here and there.

"Hey you said we were gonna be late!" Ennoshita complained, shooting Narita a pout.

Narita at least had the decency to look a little guilty. "I thought we were gonna get lost," he reasoned, "But apparently Kinoshita's has a good memory."

"But now we have time to freak out before class," Kinoshita said in a voice that was too perky for the first day of school.

Ennoshita just gave a snort in response. He didn't need anymore time to freak out. He spent all last night freaking out. He just needed to get the day over with quickly, like peeling off a band aid.

As more students started to trickle in, familiar faces started to appear. Daichi came in dragging along the Hufflepuff boy they had identified as Asahi last night. They plopped down on either side of Suga still not fully awake. Suga automatically handed Daichi some milk and Asahi orange juice and apparently had already made plates for the both of them too.

"You're an angel Suga," Daichi mumbled as he looked at his plate.

"Yes," Asahi agreed sleepily, "A breakfast God who is too good for earth."

Suga just smiled sweetly as the other two dug into their food, their faces immediately twisting into disgust.

"I hate you. I hate you so much," Daichi said as Asahi downed his orange juice and then winced, spitting it back into the cup.

"You did it to our drinks too, Suga?" He whined, "You're evil."

"Yeah," Daichi said as he grabbed some more milk and chugged it straight out of the jug, "The actual devil. That cute fluffy hair of yours is just hiding the horns."

Suga still had the sweetest smile on his face.

"What?" He asked innocently, "That's how I like my eggs," he pulled a bottle out of his robes, "with a couple spoonfuls of chili powder."

"Do you just carry that around?"

"Yup!" Suga replied brightly, "I thought you would need a kick to start your first day!"

Ennoshita never wanted to be on the receiving end of the glare Daichi had on, but Suga just laughed.

"I can't believe we fell for it again," Asahi said, sadly looking at his ruined breakfast.

"How often does this happen?" Kinoshita asked concerned.

"About once a month and they fall for it each time. They're so cute," Suga answered as he pinched both of their cheeks. Ennoshita caught Daichi and Asahi exchanged mischievous looks as Suga was too busy still giggling over them. He would've warned Suga, but he didn't really want to get into the mess that was unfolding before him. Instead he subtlety moved himself and his food a bit away from the others, anticipating whatever they had planned. He was right to.

As soon as Suga took a sip from his juice, Asahi and Daichi pounced, both tickling the other boy from either side. Suga spit his drink out, spraying Kinoshita and Narita and their breakfast, as he giggled hysterically. Ennoshita had moved away enough that he wasn't in the splash zone.

"You know, Suga, spitting on the new kids probably won't make you anymore friends." Kuroo slumped down next to Ennoshita, with a grumpy looking Kenma trailing behind him, who immediately fell asleep on his plate.

"Shu-sh-shut-u-up," Suga gasped between giggles, "Plea-please-st-sto-pp."

Daichi just sent him a wicked grin and instead tickled him harder, "Nah, I think I'm good, but maybe if you say sorry I might reconsider."

"Oh, and that you'll never do it again," Asahi added as Suga's laughter increased to an ear piercing volume. Quite a few students had turned to look at the commotion, most of them shaking their heads or scoffing at them. Ennoshita wondered how widely accepted they were, if the group he landed himself in was seen as outcasts or weirdos. From the stares they were getting, he could reasonably guess they were.

"I-I'm s-ss-sorry," Suga was practically crying at this point, "I-I-I wo-w-won't dd-do it an-a-any-mm-ore."

Asahi and Daichi finally decided to show him mercy and stopped their attack, not without a few more tickles as a reminder.

"And how often does that happen?" Ennoshita asked Kuroo, eyebrow raised.

Kuroo gazed at them with an almost bored expression. "At least once a week," he sighed, biting into a piece of bacon.

"Man, it seems like we missed all the fun already!" Noya's voice was loud behind him.

Ennoshita felt a weight fall on to his shoulders. Tanaka apparently thought he was a very comfortable elbow rest. When Ennoshita turned around, he was met with Tanaka's face smiling down on him. He tried returning the smile, but it was hard to when he could feel how warm Tanaka's hands were against his neck.

"Morning, Chika," He said brightly, knocking his head against Ennoshita's, "How you feelin'?"

Before Ennoshita could even think to respond though, the table was interrupted by another presence. He assumed it was Bokuto or Akaashi, making a late appearance, but when he turned back to face forward, he found himself staring directly at the Headmistress herself. Professor McGonagall was looming over Daichi, Asahi, and Suga, who still had the case of the giggles.

"I see you all are getting comfortable, as usual Sawamura and Azumane," She said sternly, eyeing Daichi and Asahi.

The both of them at least had the decency to look guilty. Ennoshita could feel his stomach twist and he didn't even do anything.

"Sorry?" Daichi said sheepishly while laughing nervously as Asahi looked down at his plate, cowering. Ennoshita felt him on a spiritual level.

McGonagall ignored Daichi's weak apology and continued, "And look you've already influenced the new students already, too," she glanced over at Noya trying to squeeze his way in between Kinoshita and Narita. Ennoshita felt Tanaka tuck his head into Ennoshita's neck, as though hiding there would help him disappear. "How wonderful."

"You should expel them," Suga said smiling widely, "They were bullying me too, professor."

Ennoshita couldn't believe what he was hearing. Suga was basically throwing them under the bus and all anyone could do was laugh. He felt like he was missing something. That made McGonagall crack a smile in her stony demeanor.

"Sugawara, I don't think anyone could bully you if they tried," she responded without missing a beat, "But you know the rules. You must eat meals with your own houses and as Headmistress I have to punish anyone who breaks the rules, if I see them that is."

"Yes, Professor," Daichi and Asahi both replied in unison. Ennoshita didn't hear a hint of fear in either of voices.

Her grin widened. "Good thing I didn't see anything. Enjoy your breakfast" she said, walking away, then turned back around, "And try to keep it to a dull roar. You're disrupting the other students."

"Yes, Professor," Daichi, Asahi, and Suga called back happily.

"And that happens every day," Kuroo said, casually finishing his bacon, "She lets them off because Suga's her favorite."

"I am not!" Suga said in defense.

"Yeah, she knows what a little demon Suga is," Daichi said, automatically ducking away from the chop Suga tried placing on his head, "Kidding, kidding. You're not helping your case though."

"I think it's because she's trying to encourage inter-house relationships," Asahi inputted from the other side. All eyes turned to him and he immediately blushed, but when Daichi and Suga gave him encouraging smiles, he continued. "Things haven't been that great because of what happened after the war. Everyone tends to stick to themselves out of fear and are especially mean to Slytherins, so I think she likes that our group doesn't care about that stuff. A lot of people don't like us for it though."

Ennoshita contemplated Asahi's statement, wondering what this war was about. He felt Tanaka tense up behind him at the mention of it. He really didn't know much about the wizarding world and it was already starting to show. He made a mental note to ask Tanaka more about it when they were alone. It made his stomach squirm as the discrimination and separation seemed vaguely similar to something he read in his own textbooks. If he learned anything from history class, it was that fear drove people to do really bad things.

"Yeah a lot of Gryffindors blame all Slytherins for what happened that's what makes Oikawa and Iwaizumi even weirder," Daichi continued as everyone murmured in agreement, "Then Hufflepuffs always come to their defense and just gets even messier."

"Most Ravenclaws will claim they're neutral on it," Kuroo added bitterly, "But really they're just egging both sides on because they think that's what being clever is."

Hogwarts was starting to sound more and more like a war-zone and less like the dreamlike paradise he felt like he had stepped into last night. Ennoshita suddenly felt the need to be guarded. Tanaka's breath even felt shaky against his neck. Ennoshita hesitantly reached back to place a comforting hand on his arm.

"But don't worry about all that right now, ok?" Suga assured when he saw all the first years' expressions, "Just focus on getting to class on time."

"Speaking of which," Daichi said, getting up from his seat, "We should probably get back to our tables. They'll be handing out schedules soon."

Tanaka gave his shoulder a small squeeze before he left and whispered, "Wait here for me so we can compare classes, ok?"

Tanaka looked at him for conformation and Ennoshita nodded quickly, making Tanaka shoot him a bright smile as he ran of to join Daichi and Noya at the Gryffindor table. Ennoshita couldn't help but let out a sigh, staring down at his now cold breakfast. Hogwarts seemed to have come with more problems than just classes. He really didn't want to deal with it, but it seemed like House politics wasn't something you could just ignore here.

He watched as the head of their house handed out schedules to students. His first day was already stressful and he never even got to finish his toast.

Maybe nothing at Hogwarts was supposed to go as planned.

 

* * *

 

 

Ennoshita kept his head down in most of his classes, thinking he could just coast under the radar. After comparing schedules with Tanaka, he found they had potions and transfiguration together. That kept him calm through out the day, along with getting to have every class with Kinoshita and Narita. With them sitting around him in each class, it was much easier to blend into the background. The more he fit in, the less someone would want to pick on him; that was the best lesson he learned from school.

Two weeks managed to fly by like that without a hitch. They fell into a daily routine of classes, homework, and hanging out. And Ennoshita caught himself becoming used to being apart of this unit now. He had a group to study in the library with and eat every meal with. He actually enjoyed studying, not just because of the company, but because everything they learned was interesting. At first he thought it would be overwhelming, and it really was. But after a while he found comfort in the way he could always hear Tanaka tapping away at any surface, or Kinoshita and Narita quiet giggles, or Noya's heavy breathing (the boy was loud even when he wasn't talking). He really loved it actually; it made him feel warm and fuzzy at the thought.

But nothing could be perfect. He could feel it come crashing down as soon as he read the notice in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Flying lessons!" Narita exclaimed as he read the flyer, "And we have it with all the other first years. That means we'll have it with Tanaka and Noya!"

"This is gonna be so much fun," Kinoshita said, squeezing Ennoshita's arm hard in excitement, "I haven't ridden a broom in so long! Ennoshita you're gonna love it!"

Ennoshita gave the both of them a hesitant smile. He heard the other boys talk about quidditich and broomsticks like they were the best thing ever. He had tried to be enthusiastic about it, but in reality he was so terrified. It just didn't seem very safe, or practical. How comfortable could a broomstick be? And on top of all that he happened to be deathly afraid of heights. Enough that even being in tall made his pulse race. So no, riding around on a stick hundreds of meters in the air didn't sound too appealing to him. He was still getting used to the idea of magic and it was hard to trust sometimes, even when it worked miracles in front of his eyes.

He woke up the next morning, absolutely dreading life and wondering if he could fake sick, but Kinoshita and Narita were already jumping on top of him, actually excited to attend classes. Akaashi and Kenma looked bored as usual, giving a solid indifferent front to the whole flying thing. But then he remembered they grew up in the magical world too, this was basically like riding a bike to them.

 Tanaka and Noya were just as pumped as Kinoshita and Narita, exchanging flying stories over breakfast while Ennoshita looked on nervously. Nobody seemed to notice his discomfort, but then again he tried to cover it up with a lot of fake smiles. It seemed to have worked. He didn't know if it was a good or bad thing, if he actually wanted someone to notice.

 It was too late though. After potions, he was being dragged along by his friends into literal hell for him. What lovely friends he's made. He had to remind himself that it wasn't their fault. He should've said something to one of them. Tanaka would've definitely done something about it. But every time Ennoshita turned to address the other boy, Tanaka would give him the brightest smile and suddenly he didn't have the heart to crush the 'fun'.

 He immediately regretted it when he found himself standing in front of a rickety broomstick lined up with the other first years. His heart wouldn't slow down, no matter how much he tried to calm himself. Apparently wizards did this all the time, so it had to be somewhat safe.

"Ok, now shut up and listen up!" Coach Ukai yelled to get their attention, "I'm sure a lot of you've ridden a broom before, but you still gotta do this, ok?"

His question was met with halfhearted murmuring and apparently that wasn't good enough for him.

"When I ask a question," He growled, "you answer with a 'yes, sir'."

That was met with a loud chorus of "Yes, sir!" while Noya leaned in and whispered, "He's kind of a hard ass."

Ennoshita was able to keep his laughter in, but Tanaka, poor, sweet, Tanaka was too giggly not to, and ended up letting out a small chuckle. The coach's eyes immediately narrowed in their direction.

"Is something funny?"

"Yes, sir," Noya responded without hesitation.

Ennoshita couldn't hold in his emotions this time and let out a little gasp as Kinoshita and Narita were practically vibrating with laughter. What was Noya thinking? He obviously wasn't.

Noya looked at all their surprised expressions and simply shrugged saying, "Hey, he said to respond with 'yes, sir'!"

He had a point there. Coach Ukai didn't think so though as he just put his head in his hands for an entire minute, mumbling to himself. Ennoshita caught a couple of words something about if 26 was too young to retire at. When he was done, he just sighed, "Just don't talk when I talk, ok?"

The five of them nodded furiously in response, hoping to get back into his good graces because of course Noya managed to get them on his bad side in the first five minutes of class.

"Anyway," He said, strolling down the line of first years, gazing at them like he was sizing them up, "I'm going to tell you all the safety rules that you must follow."

Ennoshita hung on to every word, while everyone else seemed to have tuned out pretty quickly. They could do whatever they want, but Ennoshita wasn't breaking his neck. After that he explained how to actually ride the broomstick. Apparently it was as easy as putting your hand over it and saying 'up'. Ennoshita couldn't possible mess that up; it was way too simple.

The clearing was soon filled with the voices of all the first years, commanding their broomsticks to jump into their hands. Some students got the hang of it quickly. People like Tanaka, Noya, Akaashi, and Kenma had their brooms in their hands within seconds. For others it took a couple of tries, but eventually the broom flew into their grips, like Kinoshita and Narita. And for the rest the broom was at least rolling on the ground for them, well mostly everyone else. Ennoshita's broom wouldn't even budge.

He was becoming increasingly frustrated with it. The inital fear of flying was now masked by the fear of failing completely. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw more in more brooms in the air, more and more students were ready to lift off, while he was firmly stuck to the ground. This is what he wanted anyway, right? He wanted two feet on the ground, so why was he so desperate to lift off? The answer was directly in front of him, literally.

Tanaka was smiling brightly, chatting along with Noya and the rest of his friends, all holding on to broomsticks, while his hands were still empty. He looked around. He was the last one. He could feel his face start to burn as he desperately stuck his hand back out, mumbling, "up. up up."

But the stupid stick just wouldn't move.

He felt a heavy hand fall on to his shoulder and squeeze it. "Don't stress yourself out about it, kid," said a gruff voice. Coach Ukai was standing directly behind him, gently pushing his arm down. "Just hold on a sec while I get everyone else going. Then I'll help you out."

Ennoshita nodded in response, keeping his head down. He didn't want to see the sympathetic glances he knew his friends were throwing his way. But then he heard someone chuckle. He looked up slightly, still not making direct eye contact with anyone and saw a couple of boys pointing at him. He ducked his head back down. He could feel tears prickling his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. If he knew anything, it was that people made fun of others to get a reaction and he was not giving them the satisfaction. Instead he just clenched his fist and closed his eyes, trying to steady his shaking breathing. He was fine. It wasn't a big deal. He didn't even want to fly all that much.

He opened his eyes again. All his friends were hovering about fifty feet above him. Tanaka caught his gaze and gave him a small wave, but a big smile.

He was going to be just fine.

 

* * *

 

After his complete flying fail, in front of their entire first year class, Ennoshita decided he wasn't very hungry for dinner. Instead of following the rest of them to the Great Hall, he basically sprinted back to his dormitory, giving some sort of lame excuse to his friends.

He plopped down face first into his sheets and let a few frustrated tears fall on to his pillow. He felt squeamish as he remembered the harsh laughter from the other boys. He had to keep reminding himself that it didn't matter, that in a couple of years it wouldn't matter. But that didn't stop the ache in his chest he had currently. 

 He curled in on himself ready to fall a sleep, when he heard a small knock on the door. He looked up and saw Tanaka hesitating at the doorway.

"Hey, Chika," He said softly, "Can I come in?"

Ennoshita nodded silently, too tired for words. Tanaka took the invitation, closing the door behind him. He approached the bed and sat himself down, so that Ennoshita's back was facing him. He wondered if Tanaka purposefully chose that position, so that Ennoshita could hide his tears. Whether or not, he took the time to wipe his face clean with his sheets. Normally Ennoshita would be freaking out about being this close to another human, but over the last couple of weeks he became used to his very touchy friend group and in this moment he was kind of craving the contact. Tanaka provided it by placing his hand delicately on Ennoshita's arm.

Tanaka cleared his throat before speaking again, as though he feared Ennoshita's rejection, "Are you up for an adventure, Chika?"

An adventure? Ennoshita was expecting words of comfort. Maybe a promise to go beat someone up for him. But he should really just start expecting the unexpected.

"An adventure?" Ennoshita got up and turned to face Tanaka, eyebrows raised.

Tanaka was smiling back at him widely, eyes just slits. "Yup," he said happily, "An adventure! C'mon, now let's go while everyone's at dinner."

Before Ennoshita could protest, Tanaka was already dragging him out the door.

"How did you even get into our common room?" Ennoshita asked as they sprinted by his house mates, who glared as the two passed them, their hands still firmly clasped together.

Tanaka turned around and gave him a mischievous smile and said, "I have my ways! We have to hurry though, so we can make it back by curfew."

 Make it back by curfew? What were they doing? Where were they going? Ennoshita's mind was too fuzzy to actually care though and just allowed Tanaka to lead him through the winding staircases and narrow hallways of Hogwarts. He didn't even question him. Ennoshita decided he'd freak out when they actually got there.

Ennoshita completely freaked out when they got to where Tanaka was taking him.

"Nope. Nope no no no thanks," Ennoshita said turning back toward the door they came from. Tanaka was quick though and stepped in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and turning him back around.

"Aww c'mon, Chika! It'll be an adventure!"

Apparently Tanaka's idea of an adventure was taking him to a rooftop, where he also managed to sneak a broomstick up to. Ennoshita had an idea of where this was going and his entire being was nope-ing.

"I'll die," Ennoshita said dryly, "I don't feel much like dying today."

Tanaka wrapped himself around Ennoshita and clung on tight so that he couldn't move. 

"Chikaaaaaa," he whined directly in his ear, "Don't you trust me?"

Tanaka's voice was too vulnerable for it to be a complete joke. Ennoshita gulped. Unfortunately for him he did trust Tanaka. 

"If I die I'll haunt you forever."

Tanaka cheered and promised that he would try his best to keep Ennoshita safe. He gently led him over to the broom and got on himself, then gestured for Ennoshita to take the seat in front of him, that is if you can call a broomstick a seat. .He took a deep breath. He could do this. He was fine.

Ennoshita got on the broomstick, gripping the top tightly, while Tanaka placed his hands on top of his, so that his arms were wrapped securely around Ennoshita.

"Here we go!" Tanaka yelled excitedly.

Suddenly Ennoshita felt a rush of air around him, his eyes were shut tightly, but he couldn't feel solid ground beneath him. They were up. They were flying. He could feel the wind around him, making his stomach squirm. Just how high were they? He had know idea, but he knew that he didn't want to fall from where ever they were. He didn't feel as worried about that now though, not with Tanaka's chest so warm against his back, not with his hands firm against his own. No, Ennoshita wasn't as scared of falling as he anticipated. It surprised him. It wasn't as terrible as he imagined.

"Hey, your eyes are still closed!" Ennoshita could feel them slow down slightly as Tanaka's breath ghosted his ear.

"Why are you looking at me?" Ennoshita answered, "You should be looking forward so we don't bump into anything!"

"What are we going to bump into out here?"

"I don't know! Maybe a bird!"

Tanaka laughed loudly and Ennoshita could feel every chuckle vibrate through his spine. "Ok, I'll look ahead but you should too," Tanaka said, swerving them slightly to the right and then whispering, "The sun is setting. It's a nice view."

Ennoshita shivered. He could handle the flying with his eyes closed. With that he could at least pretend he was on the ground, but once he opened his eyes it became reality. But Tanaka's voice sounded so sweet and he loved sunsets. He always watched them with his mom and a good book. His curiosity won out. He opened his eyes and gasped.

They were gliding over the lake and- _oh gosh_ \- it was breathtaking. He had looked just in time to see the last rays of the sun cause the surface to sparkle, reflecting the gorgeous reds and purples of the sunset. It was so beautiful, he almost forgot to be scared of how high up they were. Everything felt so calm. The crisp air, Tanaka's steady breaths, the wind tickling his skin, it was all so serene, so peaceful. Ennoshita wanted to live in this moment forever, so he just leaned back against Tanaka and basked in it. The more he relaxed, the more he appreciated flying. He didn't hate that stupid broomstick so much anymore.

They didn't say a single word for the rest of the trip.

 

* * *

 

 

"Ryuu?" Ennoshita asked once they were both safely back on the rooftop. His fingers still tingling from the sensation of actually flying around a castle on an actual broomstick.

"Yeah, Chika?" Tanaka responded.

He hesitated, feeling a bit strange now that they were back on solid ground, being up in the air had made him feel braver somehow. But struggled out with it anyway, "Do you think we can do that again?"

Tanaka swung an arm around him, grinning, and Ennoshita immediately felt silly for worrying. He felt that calm he had felt in the clouds.

"Of course, Chika! We can do it all the time."

Ennoshita thought that maybe Tanaka's smile could compete with the view of the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all I'm back with another cheeky update. Hope y'all like it. It's pretty late so I'm too tired to do this properly, but thanks for reading and commenting and stuff!!!
> 
> See y'all next time.


	4. A New Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Tanaka, Hogwarts has had its ups and downs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super special thanks to [Mel](http://morisuke-kun.tumblr.com/) (a.k.a. [Tsucchi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsucchi) on here) who has literally been listening to me complain about this for the past 3 months and on top of that edited it for me. (If you haven't, though I don't know why you'd be here if you haven't, check out their super cool Ennotana sci fi AU it is life.)

Tanaka's first year at Hogwarts was going exactly as he thought it would- awesomely. With literally endless amounts of food and classes about his favorite subject (flying), it was hard to hate school, which is something Tanaka never thought he'd say. But then Hogwarts had to ruin by, you know, actually being a school and give them exams.

He wouldn't normally study for them, as he went to all his classes. Shouldn't that be enough for the tests? That is why the teachers were there. The problem with this strategy showed really quickly. He barely passed most of his assignments, but what mattered was that he passed, right? According to Ennoshita though, this just passing wasn't enough and he couldn't just attend classes and expect to do well. He thought, that part of school was doing individual work and putting in actual effort. Ennoshita's theory seemed kinda crazy to Tanka. But he went with it anyway because, well, because it was Ennoshita.

And that's how he found himself, on, what he swore, was the most beautiful day of the year, stuck in the stuffy library.

He let out an exaggerated sigh as he rested his head against their table, hoping the boy across from him would pick up on his boredom. Unfortunately for Tanaka, Ennoshita was as oblivious as ever, not even sparing him a glance up from his giant book. He sighed again, but Ennoshita simply turned the page instead of responding. Oh, he was definitely getting ignored. He decided to ditch that method and instead he picked his head back up and stared a hole into the top of Ennoshita's bowed head. Ennoshita had to look up eventually.

Tanaka took his time to study the other boy. Ennoshita looked so small, too small in this setting. He seemed to have to put in actual effort to turn the thick pages of the ancient looking book he was reading. He used his entire palm to push back, like his fingers couldn't do it by themselves. Even his robes seemed to swallow his entire being, his hands barely poking out the ends. Tanaka giggled to himself a bit. It was just so Ennoshita, even his personality seemed too big for him.

Ennoshita's ear twitched slightly when Tanaka huffed out a laugh. So he was listening. Tanaka sighed again to make sure and he watched Ennoshita shift slightly. Yep, he was still being ignored. It looked like Tanaka was going to have to go for more extreme measures.

Quickly he hopped over the table and landed on the bench, facing Ennoshita. On the other hand, Ennoshita still didn't bother to look at him, instead favoring scratching at his nose instead of paying attention to Tanaka. It was a fair fight, Ennoshita had perfected his skill of ignoring Tanaka in the past year, but Tanaka had mastered the art of annoyance long before coming to Hogwarts. Saeko claims he was an expert straight out of the womb. So Tanaka fell back on his last skill set.

"Chika."

Ennoshita turned the page.

"Chikaaaa," Tanaka repeated, bumping his nose against Ennoshita's shoulder. He got another little twitch out of that.

"Chi-ka-ra," enunciating each syllable with a small bump, "Chi-ka Chi-ka. Chi-ka-ra."

Tanaka was really starting to get into it. He even added a small tune to it, when suddenly Ennoshita slammed his book shut. Tanaka let out a small yelp and was immediately shushed by everyone around them. He just stuck everybody with his new glare that he'd been working on. It must have worked, since none of the punks tried to fight him. He turned back to Ennoshita to find that he was already staring at him. It was one of those looks that usually ended up with Ennoshita lecturing him.

Tanaka braced himself for the on coming nagging session, but instead Ennoshita flicked him in the forehead.

"Ryuu," Ennoshita said, stern expression still set, "Ryuu. Ryuu-no-su-ke."

He flinched away from Ennoshita and grabbed onto the offending hand. Ennoshita simply lifted his other one, ready to flick him again.

"Ry-"

"Ok, I get it!" Tanaka exasperated, holding both of Ennoshita's hands far away from his sensitive forehead, "Why did you have to flick so hard though?"

"I don't know my own strength," Ennoshita replied, wiggling out of Tanaka's grip, "Also, I thought more barbaric techniques might work better on you and it did."

Tanaka couldn't argue with him there; he wasn't planning on bothering Ennoshita anytime soon, now.

"Come on let's go," Ennoshita said, suddenly getting up and packing his stuff in his book bag.

"We're leaving?" Tanaka tried to leave out the hopefulness in his tone.

"Yeah, I wasn't getting much done to begin with," Ennoshita admitted, "plus it was hard to concentrate with you being so jumpy."

Tanaka perked up even more. "So my distracting worked?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ennoshita responded, face hidden from Tanaka's view. He could only imagine the smirk Ennoshita had on.

Tanaka settled for an eye roll instead of a reply and decided he would have to wait for a later time to get Ennoshita to fully crack.

He watched as Ennoshita carefully organized his things. Tanaka couldn't help but feel a little guilt well up as Ennoshita started to roll up his half finished notes. Ennoshita always seemed to be cutting his studying for Tanaka, yet he always insisted they studied together, even if Tanaka felt like he was holding him back.

"Hey Chika?" Tanaka asked hesitantly, getting a small hum in return, "Sorry about all that by the way. I'm just stupid and I can't pay attention to stuff I don't get."

Ennoshita dropped his bag on to the table and turned to face Tanaka, jaw set. Oh no, he's so going to yell at him this time, though Tanaka couldn't understand what for.

"Today I didn't just cut it short for you," Ennoshita said evenly, "I realized I hadn't sent a letter to my mother this week, so we're gonna head over to the Owlery before dinner."

"Oh, ok but I always-"

"And never say that again," Ennoshita continued, not giving Tanaka a chance to speak.

"Say what?" Tanaka asked as he adjusted his own bag.

"That you're stupid," Ennoshita said.

Tanaka looked up. Ennoshita had that same expression on when they met on the train, when Tanaka told him about the other boys.

"You're not stupid," Ennoshita turned away from Tanaka and glared at a bookcase like he wanted it to catch on fire. "Don't let anyone ever tell you that. Ok?"

Tanaka stood there gaping at Ennoshita and when he looked back at Tanaka, Ennoshita blushed furiously. But he still held his ground.

Hands curled up in fists and eyes narrowing, he asked again, "Ok?"

"Ok," Tanaka squeaked in response.

"Good," and with that he marched out of the library, leaving Tanaka to stumble behind him.

"Blimey, Chikara," Tanaka said as they made their way down the hallway, "you can be really scary."

"I practice in the mirror every morning," Ennoshita responded dryly.

"Really?" Tanaka asked, intrigued that Ennoshita put that much effort into his social interactions.

"Oh Ryuu."

 

* * *

 

They made it to the Owlery with a minimum amount of detours. Tanaka only complained about going about four times. Both he and Ennoshita knew it was all for show. Tanaka loved going to the Owlery because, well because it had owls and Tanaka loved owls. Well really he liked any type of animal, so any excuse to pet some was a valid excuse to him. Ennoshita had caught on pretty quickly and invited Tanaka to come along with him anytime he needed to write a letter on the condition that Tanaka was quiet whenever he was composing said letter.

Tanaka took a deep breath as they stepped into the large open ceiling room.

"Ah, just the smell of it gets me excited!" Tanaka exclaimed, already bouncing towards the sleeping owls.

"It literally smells like crap," Ennoshita replied from where he was hunched over against the wall, a long roll of parchment spilling over his knees.

"Yeah, but it comes from cute animals, so it's cute," Tanaka said, petting a little snowy owl that had just flown in, "Isn't that right, Albert?"

"A smell can't be cute, Ryuu," Ennoshita responded without looking up from his paper, so Tanaka had to settle with sticking his tongue out at the the top of his head.

"I saw that."

"Yeah, right!" Tanaka fumbled for a clever retort, "You're just mad because- beca- well because you're not cute!"

That was a downright lie and Tanaka knew it, though hopefully Ennoshita didn't know that. Ennoshita happened to be very cute. Not like cute cute, like a girl, but like cute, like a cat. Yes, Ennoshita was definitely like a cute cat. He had fluffy hair and even liked to glare and hiss at things he didn't like. Of course, Ennoshita (or anyone for that matter) couldn't know that Tanaka thought of him as a cute kitty. It was just something else he could hold over his head.

Ennoshita just huffed in response. "Nice come back."

"He's always so angry too," Tanaka said to Albert, who just stared back, "Isn't he? He's just so grumpy," he nuzzled Albert rather violently, the owl silently endured his torture, "Yes he is. Yes he is. All the time too right?"

His rambling was cut off by a loud bark of laughter from Ennoshita. Startled, Tanaka snapped around to look at him. "What's so funny, Mr. Grumpy Pants?"

Ennoshita just continued to giggle as he finished up his letter.

"Nothing," He said, waving over the fresh ink, as though the lazy motion of his hand would actually help dry it, "You're just ridiculous."

Ridiculous. He didn't say it in the way Tanaka's mother did when she was fed up with his attitude, but rather in a way that made it seem like Tanka being ridiculous was Ennoshita's favorite thing, like it was a compliment. So, Tanaka took it as one and beamed back at him.

Just as Tanaka was about to respond though, another distraction flew through the archway.

"Sophia!" Tanaka squealed as a large pitch black owl landed neatly on his shoulder, "You're just in time," Sophia blinked down at Tanaka expectantly.

"Oh yeah!" Tanaka remembered and started to fish through his robe pockets for something, "Here's your treat! Now you gotta take Chika's letter ok?"

"Ryuu!" Ennoshita said, marching over to stand next to Tanka, a rather disgusted look on his face, "How long has that been in your pocket?"

Sophia seemed to be asking the same question as she she played with the food Tanaka was offering her, pecking at it tentatively. She deemed it good enough after a couple of pokes though, and swallowed it whole.

"Does it matter?" Tanaka said as Sophia nuzzled him in appreciation, "She liked it! Plus she's gonna need the energy if she's gonna lug around the novel you wrote."

"It's not a novel," Ennoshita tapped Tanaka with his parchment roll, "And you should really stop giving them so many treats. You're ruining their diet."

Tanaka rubbed at the spot Ennoshita hit, pouting slightly, "You're one to talk, Mr. Three-bowls-of-treacle-pudding."

"I cause my own destruction," Ennoshita replied solemnly.

Tanaka huffed out a laugh, "Besides, Mr. Grumpy Pants," He said, scratching at the top of Sophia's head, "I think someone is a bit jealous that the owls like me better."

Ennoshita simply rolled his eyes and held out his arm in response. Immediately, Sophia left Tanaka's side and cuddled up to Ennoshita instead.

"Sophia!" Tanaka screeched. The loud noise didn't help him and instead both Ennoshita and the owl shot him the same dirty look for disturbing the peaceful environment, "You traitor! I thought we had something special!"

She opted to ignore that and continued to give Ennoshita affectionate pecks instead which left Ennoshita flushed, the widest smile on his face and the softest giggles escaping his lips. Tanaka could only swallow silently to suppress the squeal that was coming up his throat. Curse Ennoshita and his cuteness to win him over each time.

"Hey that tickles," Ennoshita continued to let small laughs out as he instructed the owl to take the letter to his mother.

They stood side by side and watched Sophia turn into a small dot in the horizon and then completely disappear. Tanaka was still pouting the entire time, up until they were leaving the Owlery.

"Hey cheer up, Mr.GrumpyPants," Ennoshita teased, intertwining their pinkies and tugging on Tanaka's, "I'll give you some of my pudding after dinner."

"No, you won't!"

"You're right."

"Chika! You're not supposed to agree with me," Tanaka whined.

Ennoshita blinked at him innocently, "But I would never lie to you."

The smirk that appeared on Ennoshita's face made Tanaka want to tackle it off of him. So he did. It resulted in more Ennoshita giggles and even more teasing and Tanaka could only act annoyed about it.

 

* * *

 

A few weeks later Tanaka found him in an even worse position than studying in the library on a weekend. He was in class, bored out of his mind, even though he had promised Ennoshita that he'd start paying attention more. It was just hard for someone like him to stay on track and with Noya dozing off next to him (more like full on snoring) he found his willpower slowly fading.

No, he thought, mentally slapping himself awake, You need to do good. Pay attention.

The little kick worked and Tanaka tried to keep up with the lesson. The only problem was that this was Transfiguration, Tanaka's worst subject, with a professor that seemed to have it out for him. This guy hated people like Tanaka or people he deemed 'troublemakers', but he seemed to find a particular dislike for Tanaka. He always had a sneer on his face whenever Tanaka asked questions on the material, though Noya claimed that's just how his face was and he always seemed to ask Tanaka unfairly hard questions in class. Ennoshita denied the latter claim, whenever Tanaka brought it up, saying that if he had just read the material before hand.  
But Tanaka swore he would always ask him a question he didn't know.

This time was no different. His steely gaze found Tanaka with ease in the crowd of students and Tanaka could only hope he knew the answer. Ennoshita and he had studied the night before so he technically was prepared, but Tanaka was confident in anything but his studies.

"Tanaka," the professor was already smiling widely, "Describe the technique used in transfiguring one's facial features."

What? The chapter he had read was about turning beetles into buttons. It had mentioned something about water goblets, but nothing about human transformations. He was sure this was way too advanced, maybe something they'd learn in fifth or sixth year, but definitely not in their first.

The stares of his classmates were already getting to him. He could feel his face burning up, the silence getting awkwardly long as the professor awaited his answer. And so Tanaka replied with what he always had to succumb to, "I don't know sir."

With wide eyes, he glanced around the room to where Ennoshita sat, seeing if it was ok for him not to. Usually Ennoshita would be pointing to his notes and trying to give him hints or just mouthing 'It's in the book.' This time though he wasn't even looking at Tanaka. He had set a steely glare instead on, to Tanaka's surprise, the professor.

The professor was smirking as usual when Tanaka didn't know the answer, but this time instead of his usual "then pay attention, Tanaka," he chuckled.

"You always seem to not know," He said, approaching Tanaka quite like a predator on to a prey. Tanaka definitely felt like prey, "Maybe Hogwarts should have an entrance exam, to eliminate those who just 'don't know' anything."

Tanaka ducked his head down and had to use all his will power not to punch this guy in the face or let the tears welling up out. Apparently though, he wasn't the worst one at covering his emotions.

"Sir," Tanaka looked up to see Ennoshita, his hand held up high and his jaw set. Someone was going to get a tongue lashing and Tanaka had a feeling that for once it wasn't him.

"Oh yes, Ennoshita, do you have the answer?" His tone changed like he was a completely different person, but then again Ennoshita had always been one of his favorites because he seemed to always have the right answer.

"No," Ennoshita said rather harshly, "But I noticed the question had nothing to do with the reading."

The professor looked a bit sheepish at that but held his ground and said, "Yes, but you know I like to challenge my students."

Ennoshita wasn't backing down either. "Really?" He asked, fake interest in his voice, "Funny, this isn't something a first year should know at all. Maybe Hogwarts should give an entrance exam to professors too, you know, to eliminate those who don't know how to teach."

The room was in complete silence. Tanaka couldn't believe what he was hearing. He turned to Noya to confirm what had just happened. It apparently had happened as Noya was sitting there with the widest open mouth smile Tanaka had ever seen, his eyes shining with pride.

Ennoshita had sassed the ever loving fluff out of their professor and didn't even flinch. He was amazing, the moment so beautiful. Everyone was on the cusp of breaking into laughter when-

"Ennoshita," the professor snarled, all light heartedness gone, gaze even sharper than the one he sent Tanaka, "See me after class."

If he was scared, Ennoshita didn't show it on his face, but Tanaka could see his small fists shaking as he tried to steady his quill. His own hands itched to go over there and steady them himself, but he knew disrupting the class again would just mean more trouble for the both of them. Instead he settled for sending Ennoshita, what he hoped was, a comforting smile. Thankfully Ennoshita returned it without missing a beat.

After class their entire group waited around outside their classroom, in order to hear Ennoshita's verdict. There was a lot of muffled yelling, but Tanaka couldn't make out any exact words. The guilt was eating him up though. There were several moments he almost marched in and told the professor to give him Ennoshita's punishment. Kinoshita and Narita held him back though saying that Ennoshita would just get into more trouble.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Ennoshita quietly stepped out into the hall, head ducked down. He had no time to be defeated though, as Noya immediately jumped him, laughing almost maniacally.

"Chikara!" He screamed as Kinoshita and Narita slow clapped. Tanaka couldn't help but crack a smile at the scene, "You are such a badass! Oh my god! You are my hero."

Ennoshita pulled at Noya's collar, "Language, Noya." Apparently he wasn't upset enough to not scold them, "Anyone could've done it."

"I don't know man," Kinoshita added as he tried to pry Noya off of Ennoshita, "that was pretty freaking awesome."

"Yeah," Narita agreed, "but how much time did you get?"

"A month, starting tonight," everyone winced, but Ennoshita continued, "Polishing and sorting all the glassware students transfigure and on top of that it's after class, but before dinner. He said if I miss dinner it's not his problem."

Tanaka's smile slid off quickly as Ennoshita read out his sentence. He got in so much trouble, all because Tanaka couldn't answer a stupid question. Ennoshita met his gaze and gave him a small smile, "It was well worth it though."

His statement was met with more laughter and a couple of whoops from Noya. It just made Tanaka's stomach sink deeper though. Ennoshita was just too nice to him.

"Was it?" Tanaka gritted his teeth together, nails digging into his palms, "You got into so much trouble Chika! You-you-" Tanaka tapered off as Ennoshita marched towards him, looking even more determined than before, "What are you-"

Ennoshita was practically nose to nose with Tanaka when he slapped both of his cheeks, squishing them between his palms.

"What did I tell you?" Ennoshita asked, rubbing Tanaka's cheeks together, "Don't let anyone make you feel stupid."

When Ennoshita's attack on his face finally relented, Tanaka still hesitated to reply, "But he's a professor."

"Doesn't matter," Ennoshita said, clapping his hands on to Tanaka's shoulders. Tanaka felt a boost of confidence just from the touch, "A jerk is a jerk no matter who they are, so don't let anyone make you think you are stupid. Got it?"

His gaze only intensified as he waited for Tanaka's answer, so he let out a feeble, "Got it."

"Same goes for all of you," Ennoshita finally acknowledge the rest of the boys standing awkwardly, watching the show with wide eyes.

"Yes, sir," Kinoshita and Narita nodded in sync as Noya saluted Ennoshita.

It all made Ennoshita blush, but Tanaka was still in shock. Ennoshita was really amazing. He didn't give himself enough credit.

"Shut up," He mumbled, no longer making eye contact with any of them, "let's go outside before I have detention. I don't feel like studying much."

Kinoshita and Narita let out horrified gasps and Noya pretended to faint as Tanaka fanned him.

"Talking back to teachers and not wanting to studying," Tanaka said, shaking Ennoshita, "Who are you and what have you done with Ennoshita Chikara?"

Ennoshita gave him his sweetest smile and began pulling at Tanaka's cheek. "Oww oww, Chika! Not so hard," Tanaka whined, backing away from him.

"And he's back," Narita commented.

"It was nice while it lasted," Kinoshita added.

Ennoshita rolled his eyes and stomped off yelling, "C'mon before I change my mind," leaving the rest to catch up. Kinoshita, Narita, and Noya immediately ran after him, screaming their apologies.

Tanaka, on the other hand, lagged behind, still feeling heavy from the classroom incident. As inspiring as Ennoshita's speech was, he still felt like the other boy should be mad at him.

"Hey Ryuu!" Ennoshita's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Ennoshita stood half way down the hall, the other boys already racing towards the stairs. He raised an eyebrow at Tanaka, "You coming?"

"Yeah, yeah I am."

And he took off running.

 

* * *

 

"You know you didn't have to walk me here," Ennoshita said for about the 17th time, as they made their way back down to the dreaded Transfiguration room. After a lovely couple of hours outside, it made the walk even gloomier. Tanaka sighed. Ennoshita just didn't get it.

"I know," Tanaka grumbled, "But I want to and I am so it doesn't matter."

Ennoshita stopped in his tracks, a sad smile on his face as he spoke, "Ryuu, what I meant was don't feel like you have to pay me back. I did what I did because I wanted to. That's what friends do."

Tanaka stared at him for a bit, trying to find a hint of regret in his posture or voice. There was none. Ennoshita had seen right through him; of course he had. Ennoshita was a lot smarter than he'd care to admit. But Tanaka couldn't help, but feel like he did owe Ennoshita something. Everything came at a price; that's what he was taught.

"Well, I'm doing what I'm doing because you're my friend too," Tanaka gave him a bright smile, but his stomach was still churning. He tugged on Ennoshita's arm, trying to move him a long, "Now, come on or you'll be late for detention with Mr. Di-"

"Yoo Hoo! Freshmen-kun!"

He'd recognize that annoying voice anywhere. It was followed by a loud thump and a squeal. Tanaka turned around to find none other than Oikawa and Iwaizumi making their way towards them.

"Trashy-kawa!" Iwaizumi was scowling just as hard as he always was, "Do you have to bother everyone?"

Oikawa ignored him and instead started to pester Ennoshita and Tanaka. "Ooooh. Do you guys have detention too?"

That started Iwaizumi back up again, "Hey! Don't just assume other pe-"

"Actually, I do," Ennoshita said calmly, earning wide eyed stares from both boys. Iwaizumi looked a bit sheepish at that, but Oikawa seemed a little too excited in Tanaka's opinion.

"Really?" Oikawa asked, stepping closer, "Baldy-kun seems more of the delinquent type."

"Hey who are you calling-"

Oikawa bulldozed over Tanaka's complaints without sparing him a glance, "Iwa-chan has detention too! He needs to learn to control his anger more. He's becoming more of a brute after every fight."

"Oi! Shut up, idiot!" Iwaizumi said, pulling hard on Oikawa's robes.

"You're just proving my point, Iwa-chan!"

"Hey aren't you guys going to be late?" Tanaka wondered out loud. As much as he was enjoying the Oikawa and Iwaizumi show, he didn't want Ennoshita to get into anymore trouble.

Ennoshita looked down at his watch and squealed, "We are! Iwaizumi-san it looks like we'll have to run!"

They both took off sprinting, Ennoshita shout a quick goodbye to Ryuu while Iwaizumi made a rather rude hand gesture at Oikawa. As they disappeared around the corner Oikawa laughed a bit. Tanaka stood there awkwardly. He'd interacted with Oikawa a grand total of three times and most of them were in large group settings. Oikawa didn't seem to feel awkward though as he casually hummed with his hands in his pockets and slowly started to make his way down the same path Ennoshita and Iwaizumi took.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Tanaka asked, jogging to catch up to him, "Dinner is gonna start soon."

Oikawa turned to him, eyes wide and glowing despite the dim lighting. Tanaka gulped. He had a feeling that there was a lot more to Oikawa than he let on. Oikawa cocked his head a bit as he answered, "I know. I always wait for Iwa-chan when he has detention. He just doesn't know."

"Oh," there really was more to Oikawa than meets the eye. Tanaka hesitated for a bit before asking, "Can I wait with you too?"

Oikawa narrowed his eyes at him. "Sure, if you don't bother me."

Tanaka bother Oikawa? He couldn't help but scoff at the irony. He nodded along anyway just for his own amusement. They lapsed back into an awkward silence quickly after the exchange. Tanaka couldn't stand silence, let alone an awkward one.

"So," Tanaka said still searching for something to talk about, "What did you and Iwaizumi-san fight about?"

"Huh?" Oikawa shot him a confused look.

"Ya know," Tanaka sighed, waving his arms around, "The fight that landed him in detention."

"Ohhh," Oikawa laughed, "that wasn't me and Iwa-chan. He punched someone else in the middle of transfiguration."

"Really?" Tanaka was suddenly intrigued. Iwaizumi seemed pretty calm when he wasn't around Oikawa. He wondered what set him off. "Why?"

"Oh that guy is an even bigger brute than Iwa-chan," Oikawa said, waving him off casually, "Apparently he was saying some stuff about-" Oikawa stopped in the middle of his sentence and glared at the ground, "It doesn't matter. Iwa-chan should learn how to control his anger."

It seemed like he was saying the last part more to himself than to Tanaka. It's like Oikawa was trying to make the conversation awkward or maybe he just had a lot on his mind. From his sporadic switches in tone, Tanaka could confirm that it was likely the latter.

"It's ok, Ennoshita kinda did the same thing," Tanaka said in an attempt to comfort the other boy, "He basically told the professor to shove it."

"Really?"

"Yup," Tanaka said, practically beaming. He felt a surge of pride when he looked at Oikawa's awed expression. No one ever seemed to notice Ennoshita. He was glad that everyone was starting to. He was starting to appreciate Oikawa more for it too.

He was silent for a while, like he was contemplating what Tanaka had said. "Hey, baldy-kun?" Oikawa asked. Despite the nickname, Tanaka eagerly anticipated his question, hoping he'd ask more about Ennoshita, "Do you choose to shave your head or can you not grow hair? Because I can show you some ways to make your hair almost as great as mine!"

Tanaka now understood why Iwaizumi was so angry all the time.

Two hours later Iwaizumi and Ennoshita found them still bickering, Tanaka was nearly choking Oikawa, and had to pull their respective idiots away from each other.

"Bye baldy-kun! Remember my offer!" Oikawa had to have the last say in everything.

Tanaka grumbled some choice words under his breath as Ennoshita reminded him not to take the bait. Instead he turned his attention back to Ennoshita who looked rather sleepy. His heart ached for about five different reasons.

"Tired?" Tanaka asked as Ennoshita yawned, brushing their hands together, "Or hungry? We could sneak some stuff from the kitchen?"

Ennoshita smacked his lips together a couple of times before responding, "I'm more tired. I think you'll have to spoon feed me if we get food."

Tanaka played a bit with Ennoshita's pinky, who responded in feeble attempts. "Hey, I've got a candy stash under my bed! You wanna just crash there tonight? We don't have class tomorrow so it's not a big deal."

"Lead the way," Ennoshita responded almost immediately. He must have been super tired. Ennoshita always put up a fight (or at least blush) before agreeing to stay over at Tanaka's dormitory. It made him feel worse about the whole detention situation, but he was secretly glad Ennoshita was just going along with him this time.

So Tanaka led them back to the Gryffindor common room. If their hands happened to intertwine along the way, it wasn't his problem. If their hands stayed like that the rest of the night, it definitely wasn't his problem.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally have no excuse for why this is so late. I'm just a terrible person.
> 
> these scenes might seem a bit random right now, but they are all building up to later conflicts and there will probably be similar scenes later that reflect these. Sorry for all the set up, but it has to be done at some time. 
> 
> Until next time! (who knows when that will be) Have a lovely day people!


End file.
